


All Year

by Ship_theboybands



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-17
Updated: 2013-03-17
Packaged: 2017-12-05 15:25:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/724821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ship_theboybands/pseuds/Ship_theboybands
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is winter. Louis throws his head back in laughter, his back arching and his eyes squinting shut against the snow tumbling from the sky. His laugh is loud and high and unashamed. It sounds like campfires and banana milkshakes and the stars.Harry wants to make him laugh, wants to say hello, wants to kiss him, but he stays rooted to the spot. His legs then turn in the other direction and begin to walk home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All Year

**Author's Note:**

> This is quite short and sweet but I’m extremely happy with how it turned out, hope you enjoy! (I only have one beta who checked it briefly, please notify me of typos it would be much apriciated.)

It is autumn. Brown leaves crunch under Harry’s feet as he walks along the path. The air is cool and nips his nose slightly. He hums to himself and plays with the straps of his backpack. He is tired and can’t wait to go home, melt into his pillow and black out. He is passing the park when he sees him. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots something beautiful. A boy, about his age, maybe slightly older. He is wearing a leather jacket and is perched on the picnic table, chewing his bottom lip. Harry’s heart is thumping in his chest quicker than before and he’s not too sure why. He turns to get a better view but sees a girl is blocking him.  
“Louis!” The girl calls. Louis. Harry whispers it to himself and it sounds natural, rolling off his tongue like it’s familiar. The boy’s head snaps up and an impish grin curves across his face as he jumps up to greet her. Louis embraces the girl and Harry realises he is staring at them. He sighs and turns away because all the most beautiful boys have girlfriends.

It is winter. Louis throws his head back in laughter, his back arching and his eyes squinting shut against the snow tumbling from the sky. His laugh is loud and high and unashamed. It sounds like campfires and banana milkshakes and the stars. Louis has opened his moth now and his tongue is sticking out, catching snowflakes in his mouth. He blinks and his lashes are thick and long against his tan cheeks. His hair sticks out, feathery and brown, from underneath a knitted beanie, and falls over his ears, pink from the cold. He is breathtaking. He is with a few other boys Harry recognises from school. Niall, Zayn, Liam and Josh. Liam and Zayn are kicking a football, clouds of snow coming up with the ball every time they kick it. Niall and Josh are sat either side of Louis on the picnic table and are making jokes, making him laugh. Harry wants to make him laugh, wants to say hello, wants to kiss him, but he stays rooted to the spot. His legs then turn in the other direction and begin to walk home. 

Louis’s voice is beautiful. It’s a spring afternoon and the park is dotted with daffodils. Louis is leaning against Liam’s shoulder and Josh is with them too. They are sat on the picnic table and Josh begins to beat out a rhythm that Harry knows. Liam seems to know it too because he begins to sing along. He is quiet at first but then Louis grins at him and he goes up an octave. It gets to a verse Liam doesn’t know the words to and he stops, his thick eyebrows knitted together in confusion. That’s when Louis jumps in with a voice that is calm and sweet, like a sigh. His ears go pink but not like they do in the winter when they’re cold. He has his eyes downcast and it’s almost like he’s embarrassed. Harry leans against his hiding place behind a tree and closes his eyes and just listens. Louis’s voice echoes through his ears and into his head. Harry lets the music take him over and he can’t think of anything but Josh’s gentle rhythm against the table and Louis’s voice. Harry sings along under his breath to the last line and his and Louis’s voices harmonise. It is beautiful. The song rings out in Harry’s head all the way home.

Louis is shirtless. The sun is beating down and it’s a summer afternoon, the school holidays have just begun and Louis is in the park on his own. He is kicking a football around with such skill that it seems the ball is part of his body, an extra limb. Louis is shirtless. He doesn’t have abs or anything and he isn’t glistening with sweat like in the movies but his skin looks soft and he has a birthmark shaped like a smile on his left side. There is no one else at the park besides Louis. His forehead is creased with concentration and he has a look of determination on his face. He kicks and kicks against the wall and it seems his look of determination has turned to anguish. Suddenly Louis collapses to the floor and he’s sobbing, his slight frame shaking against the ground. Without even thinking about it Harry drops his rucksack and rushes to Louis. He bends down next to him and puts a tentative hand on his back. Louis looks up and his green eyes are shiny with tears.  
“Are… Are you okay?” Harry asks. What a stupid fucking question to ask someone who’s crying. Louis sniffs and shrugs and sits up.  
“What’s it to you?” He asks and Harry realises that Louis has never even met Harry before.  
“I dunno, you just stared crying so I thought… I’m Harry” Harry sticks his hand out awkwardly and Louis takes it hesitantly.  
“Louis, and I’m fine I guess.”  
“Why were you crying?” Harry asks. Louis shrugs, pauses a while.  
“It’s been a tough year.”   
A tough year? All year Harry has been watching him and he hasn’t shown any trace of unhappiness. He has grinned at girls through the autumn and laughed through the winter and sung in the spring. Harry stands up and offers Louis a hand which Louis takes hesitantly again.  
“Er.. Do you want to talk about it?” Harry asks and he thinks his voice sounds a bit too hopeful as he gestures towards the picnic table.  
“Yeah actually.” Louis says like he’s surprised himself. 

Louis and Harry sit together on the table until the sun has crept behind the clouds and stars have started sprouting in its place. Harry gives Louis his jacket when it starts to get cold and he hopes it smells like Louis when he gets it back. Harry finds out that Louis’s mother was diagnosed in the autumn and his sister had come back from university to be with him. He finds out that Louis’s best friends had cheered him up through the winter when her condition got worse and that in the spring the doctors told him his mother was terminal and he sung her favourite song to her every day. Louis tells Harry that 3 weeks ago his mother died. Harry knows that nothing he says will bring Louis’s mother back so he doesn’t say anything. He pulls Louis’s hand into his and listens. And when Louis starts crying again Harry pulls him into his arms and hums a song Louis recognises under his breath.


End file.
